Meet Samantha and Amelia
by TheOriginalSnapespeare
Summary: This story follows the lives of 9 yr old Samantha Parkington and her 12 yr old sister Amelia. Together they face many changes such as growing up, making new friends, moving and even adding more members to their family!
1. Chapter 1

"Samantha you know you're not supposed to climb trees!" Samantha Parkington's older sister Amelia called from four feet below. Ignoring her sister's request Samantha sung her leg up over yet another tree branch. Once she was settled firmly on the branch Samantha looked down at the base of the tree where her sister sat reading _Pride and Prejudice_.

"It's alright Amelia I do this all the time! You think you know everything just because you're twelve!"

"I know more than you." Amelia called up at the tree without looking away from her book. "For example I know that if Grandmary finds you in that tree she'll be very put out."

"SAMANTHA!" A voice broke through the warm summer afternoon causing both girls to roll their eyes. Up above Samantha lost her footing in the tree and came tumbling down; arms and legs flailing. "Samantha, you're really dumb!" The same voice continued.

It was coming from a hole in the hedge that separated the girl's house from their next door neighbors the Rylans. Amelia looked up from her book to see Eddie Ryland's round face glaring at them from the mouth of the hole in the hedge. Samantha glanced at her scraped and bleeding knee more pained by Eddie's presence than anything else.

"Go away Eddie." Amelia told him firmly. But Eddie didn't go away he instead turned his attention to Amelia.

"Amelia you're so dumb you probably think three times four is twelve."

"Three times four _is_ twelve." Samantha corrected him.

"Well anyway you're so dumb…" But Samantha wasn't about to let him get in another insult.

"Eddie, if you don't get out of here right now I will take your entire beetle collection from behind the shed and I'll put it in the offering plate a church." She paused to make sure he was listening. "And I'll tell your mother _you_ did it!" Eddie's eyes grew wide and he left to find a safer hiding place for his beetle collection.

Amelia put her book aside and examined her sister's knee. The bleeding had stopped but Samantha's stocking was badly torn. Amelia could picture how Grandmary would look when she saw it. Grandmary's eyes had a soft warm light, but her face could be very stern when she talked about growing up. The taffeta bow that held Samantha's dark brown hair drooped over her forehead. Taking in the pitiful sight of her little sister Amelia knew only one person would be able to get Samantha right without Grandmary seeing. Tucking a lock of long brown hair behind her own hair, Amelia picked up her book and offered Samantha a hand.

"Come on we've got to get you to Jessie before Grandmary sees you like this." Samantha knew her sister was right. She scrambled to her feet and followed after Amelia toward the house. At the front door both girls softened their steps. If there was any noise at the front door Elsa might come. Elsa was the new maid. She was always grumpy and neither girl wanted to listen to a lecture from her. Luckily the door was quite. No one saw Samantha run all the way up to the third floor nor did they see Amelia follow her quietly several steps behind. In the corner of the sewing room at the end of the hall sat Jessie. Yards and yards of soft lilac material tumbled around her and the sewing machine clicked quietly as her feet pressed the treadle back and forth. Jessie hummed to its rhythm as her fine brown hands guided the cloth past the flashing needle. Jessie made clothes for the household. She was working on a new dress for Grandmary, but she stopped as Samantha came through the door.

"Oh Miss Samantha just look at you!" Jessie exclaimed at the sight of the disheveled girl. Amelia smiled as she entered the room just behind her sister. Amelia had always loved the sewing room because she liked to look at all the fine laces and fabrics Jessie worked with. While Jessie continued to talk, Amelia stared at the baskets of thread and lace that rested on the floor. "What have you been up to? No, don't tell me. I don't want to know. Here you are, nine years old, almost a lady, and still getting into mischief like a ragamuffin. What will your Grandmary say?"

Samantha folded her hands and looked at the floor until Jessie was quiet. The mild scolding was a small price to pay for the help she knew Jessie would give her. Already Jessie had brushed the grass and dust from her hair. Now she checked Samantha's dress for tears and stains. She spotted the torn stockings.

"Take off those shoes and stockings right now. Does your knee hurt?" Feeling confident that her sister was in good hands Amelia entered the room and sat in the sewing chair Jessie had previously occupied.

"No Jessie it's alright." Samantha added. "I'd just rather not have to explain to Grandmary." Jessie smiled and reached for her sewing basket. Samantha found a clean rag and wet it from the water pitcher. She sponged her injured knee while Jessie sat down to repair the damaged stocking. Samantha sighed loudly. "It must be awfully boring to be grown up." Jessie laughed softly.

"Well that depends. It depends a lot on the person. Now you, Miss Samantha, I don't think you'll have to be worried about being bored, even when you're grown up. You neither Miss Amelia."

"I bet Cornelia isn't bored." Amelia suggested trying to put her little sister at ease. Cornelia was a friend of the girl's favorite Uncle. She was pretty and dark haired and she laughed easily. Anyone could see that she liked Uncle Gard a lot. Amelia loved the idea of Uncle Gard and Cornelia together but Samantha didn't think Cornelia was right for Uncle Gard. Jessie chucked at Amelia's suggestion all the same.

"No I don't imagine Miss Cornelia is very often bored."

"Is Uncle Gard going to marry Cornelia?" Samantha had asked Amelia this question hundreds of times and each time she would say the same thing but Samantha had hoped Jessie would have a different answer.

"That's none of our business." Amelia scolded her sister before Jessie even had a chance to answer.

"Your sister's right Miss Samantha and children shouldn't ask such questions."

"A minute ago I was almost a lady. Now I'm a child again." Samantha mumbled at a level she thought no one could hear.

"Uncle Gard's a spy you know." Samantha said shocking both Amelia and the seamstress.

"Miss Samantha!" Jessie's head shot up in surprise. "Where do you get such foolish ideas?"

"Well he _should _be a spy." Samantha went on. "He's so handsome and brave, everyone would just fall in love with him. He could get their secrets and they'd be so in love with him they wouldn't even care."

"I think you should just keep your wild ideas about Uncle Gard to yourself." Amelia concluded. Jessie had finished repairing Samantha's stockings and he handed them over. Without saying anything Jessie picked up a piece of silk for the sleeve of Grandmary's new dress and continued sewing. Samantha put on her newly repaired stockings and shoes before speaking again.

"Tell me about New Orleans please Jessie?"

"Of course Miss Samantha, Miss Amelia would you like to join us?" Amelia who was now standing in the door way shook her head.

"No thank you Jessie I think I'll go to my room and continue reading until it's time to meet with Grandmary. Enjoy your stories Samantha." Amelia turned and headed towards the second floor where her bedroom was located. Samantha plopped down on the floor and waited for Jessie to begin. Her musical voice began to tell about a place where flowers bloomed in winter, a place where there were huge white mansions and balconies made of iron that looked like lace. She told about spicy shrimp and about music and dancing in the streets. And the best part was everything Jessie said was true. She didn't have to make up faraway places. Her husband, Lincoln, was a porter on the train that ran to New Orleans. Lincoln brought home wonderful tales of the places he'd seen and the people he'd met.


	2. Chapter 2

At four o'clock Samantha and Amelia stood outside the parlor doors. It was time for their hour with Grandmary. Samantha's hair was combed, her ribbon sat perfectly on top of her head now and her stockings were repaired. Amelia smiled down at her sister as she knocked softly on the door. Together the girls slipped into the parlor and curtsied to their grandmother. Samantha thought Grandmary looked like a queen, especially during their sewing hour. Grandmary sat very straight. Her velvet chair looked like a throne with her silk gown flowing around it. Her white hair seemed made for a crown with never a strand of hair out of place.

"Good afternoon Amelia, Samantha."

"Good afternoon Grandmary." The girls answered in unison. Amelia quickly settled herself in one of the two empty chairs and began to work on her sewing sampler of The Lord's Prayer. She had long ago finished the stitching required for all the words and had begun to work on the complicated floral border that would surround the words. Samantha on the other hand detested sewing and was quite content watching Grandmary and Amelia weaving their own complicated patterns.

"Come sit down my dear." Grandmary said once she had looked up to find Samantha still sitting in the middle of the room gawking at her. Samantha regrettably sat in the only other empty chair, picked up her sampler and sighed a little. What it was finished the sampler would read _Actions speak louder than words._ Grandmary had explained this saying. She said it meant that how people act is more important than what they say. Samantha tried to imagine the words sewn in pink silk thread. Around them would be flowers and fruits similar to the ones Amelia was making now.

Samantha stuck her tongue between her lips as she concentrated on a hard stitch. She glanced sideways to see if her grandmother looked in a good mood.

"Grandmary." Samantha began. Grandmary did not look up from the sewing project in her hands but responded to Samantha just the same.

"Yes dear?"

"Did you see the doll in the Scholfield's shop?" Amelia glanced up from her work gadging her Grandmother's reaction. She knew what her sister was about to ask and was curious to see what Grandmary was going to say.

"Yes dear I did."

"Isn't she beautiful?" Samantha sighed dramatically.

"It's quite a nice doll." Grandmary agreed.

"Do you think I might have her?" The younger Parkington sister asked hopefully.

"Samantha that is an expensive doll." Grandmary answered. "It cost six dollars. If you are going to grow up to be a responsible young lady, you must understand the value of a dollar."

I could earn the money to buy her!" Samantha exclaimed. "I could make boomerangs and just sell them. _The Boys' Handy Book_ shows just how to do it. I could…"

"Samantha a _lady_ does not earn money!" Grandmary told her shocked. Amelia saw the downhearted look that was quickly filling her sister's eyes.

"Cornelia says a woman should be able to earn money. She says women shouldn't have to depend on men for everything. She says…"

"Cornelia has a great many newfangled notions." Grandmary said cutting off her eldest Granddaughter's words. "She should keep them to herself." Sensing the conversation was over Samantha turned back to her work with another sigh.

"I would have called the doll Lydia." She said softly. "She looks like my mother." Grandmary was startled, then her eyes softened. "There are other ways, my dear, to reach your goals." Samantha looked up hopefully, Amelia smiled while Grandmary continued. "If you do well at your tasks, you might earn the doll. If you practice your piano daily…"

"Oh Grandmary I will!" Samantha burst out delighted. "I'll practice an hour every day. I'll make my sampler beautiful. I'll help Mrs. Hawkins. I won't get my dress muddy. I…" She was about to say she wouldn't tease Eddie Ryland but she knew there were some promises she just couldn't keep. "Oh Grandmary thank you!" Samantha cried before she threw her arms around her grandmother's neck.

"There, there, my dear we shall see." Grandmary said with a slight note of caution in her voice. "We shall see how you do."

Samantha worked very hard on her sampler for the next half hour. It was one of the quietest sewing hours any of them could remember. That is until a low rumbling noise could be heard from down the street. Soon there were great pops and bangs. As the noises grew louder, angry voices and the frightened whinnies of horses joined it. Curious once again Amelia lifted her head to the window she was seated near.

"Grandmary, Samantha, it's Uncle Gard! It's Uncle Gard and Cornelia!" In response Grandmary raised her eyes to the ceiling. "He's brought that dreadful automobile again. What ever shall I tell the neighbors!"

Both girls could hardly contain their excitement as the shiny black car jerked and sputtered to a stop in front of the house. The doorbell rang, a minute later Hawkins appeared at the parlor door looking dignified. "Mister Gardner and Miss Cornelia, Madam."

"Very well Hawkins. Show them in and tell Elsa to bring tea." The young couple burst into the room bringing laughter and the smell of summer with them.

"How are you mother? You look wonderful." Uncle Gard stated. He gave Grandmary a big hug snd she couldn't help but smile.

"Good afternoon Gardner. Good afternoon Cornelia. I am fine, thank you, Gardner." Grandmary's face shifted to a look of disapproval when she spoke next. Amelia's spine tingled both she and Samantha had been on the receiving end of that glare many times. "But I was a good deal better before you shattered the peace of the entire neighborhood with that horrible machine of yours. Why must you bring it here?" Uncle Gard's eyes were laughing.

"Now Mother this is 1904! You've got to keep up with the times. Besides, how can I teach Amelia how to drive if I don't bring the automobile?"

"Oh Uncle Gard will you really? Will you?" Amelia bounced up and down on her feet.

"Sure I will. Come on I'll take you and Sam for a ride right now."

"Indeed you won't!" Grandmary cried out horrified. "What can you be thinking of? Why their clothes would be ruined!" Amelia's face fell and Smanatha began to pout. Thankfully Cornelia came to the rescue.

"It's alright. Samantha can wear my duster. It's a little too big, but we'll make it fit, won't we?" Samantha nodded and flashed Cornelia a grateful smile.

"Excellent Cornelia!" Uncle Gard agreed. "And I'm more than willing to let Amy borrow _my _jacket so that her dress with stay clean." Uncle Gard shrugged his coat off and handed it to his niece. Minutes later Amelia and Samantha were headed down the walk trailing the hem of the long coats behind them. Eddie Ryland had been sitting in the car but scampered down as the girls and their Uncle approached. Uncle Gard first lifted Samantha up into the seat and then Amelia.

"Hold on tight girls while I crank it up!" Uncle Gard instructed before running to the back of the automobile.

"You both look dumb!" Eddie Ryland teased. The girls weren't listening. They were far too busy holding on tight as Uncle Gard cranked and the car began to lurch.

"Anyway I know something you don't know." Uncle Gard jumped into the seat next to Samantha and took hold of the steering Wheel. The car began to bounce and sway into the middle of the road. "A girl's coming to live at our house. She's nine years old just like you, Samantha."

"You're lying!" The girls cried out in disbelief.

"I am not! Her name's Nellie!" Neither girl tried to answer. They were once again holding on for dear life as the most modern of inventions, the automobile, bucked and rumbled its way toward town.


	3. Chapter 3

Several days later Samantha bounded into her back yard holding a gingerbread cookie. She had just finished practicing the piano. She practiced piano ever day now for one whole hour. That hour certainly did seem long, especially with Amelia and Grandmary watching over her shoulder correcting every mistake. At the end of every piano practice Samantha eagerly raced outside when it was over. She took a deep breath of summer air and a couple of long leaps. She soon came to stop beside the tunnel. The tunnel was a hole worn in the lilac hedge between her house and the Ryland's but Samantha and Amelia had always called it "The Tunnel". Through it now, she could see a girl. The girl was busy hanging laundry in the Ryland's yard. Could Eddie possibly have been telling the truth? Had this girl really come to live there? Samantha ducked through the tunnel and came closer.

"Are you Nellie?" She asked brightly. The girl looked surprised and very timid.

"Yes Miss." She answered without stopping her work. Eddie had said Nellie was nine but this girl seemed smaller than Samantha. She was very pale and very thin.

"Are you visiting the Rylands?" Samantha questioned. This time Nellie looked amused.

"Oh no Miss. I am working here." Samantha was surprised. Eddie hadn't said the girl was coming to _work, _ but it didn't matter. Samantha thought it would be wonderful to have a friend right next door. She remembered the cookie in her hand.

"Would you like some gingerbread?" She offered. "It's just baked." Nellie looked at the Rylands' house.

"Oh no Miss, I can't."

"Won't they let you?" Samantha inquired.

"No I don't think so Miss. I've got my job to do." Nellie replied.

"My name's Samantha. You don't have to call me Miss." Samantha put her cookie and napkin down on a stone and reached for a piece of wet laundry. "I'll help you Nellie. Then we can play."

"Oh no, you shouldn't." Nellie told her. She was embarrassed but there was nothing she could do to stop her new friend. So instead, she hurried to finish the job before anyone would see Samantha working. When the last of the laundry was hung Samantha grabbed Nellie's hand and pulled her toward the tunnel.

"We can eat in here nobody will see us." The girls just fit into the hole in the hedge and Nellie couldn't say no to the spicy smell of gingerbread.

"Why are you working here?" Samantha asked between bites. Nellie didn't look at Samantha when she answered.

"My father works in a factory in the city, and my mother does washing, but there's three of us children you see and it's not enough. There wasn't enough food and there wasn't enough coal." Samantha's eyes were wide with disbelief. She was good at imagining castles and jungles and sailing ships but she had never imagined hunger and cold. She had also never imagined Grandmary sending Amelia away to work somewhere else.

"You mean you your parents sent you away? But that's awful!"

"Oh no it's better here. It really is." Nellie said. "The Rylands pay my family a dollar a week for the work I do. That's not as much as I earned in the factory, but in the factory I had to work every day, but Sunday, until dark. And the air was so hot and dusty I started coughing a lot. That's why my parents let me come here. The air is good and I don't have to work so long and I get good food." With one finger she collected the last of the cookie crumbs. "Only I don't get to see my family much." Samantha was shocked into silence but only for a moment.

"When do you go to school?" She questioned.

"I've never been to school." Nellie whispered. Samantha's mind raced.

"Nellie I have an idea. We can meet here every day and I'll teach you. The Ryland won't miss you for just a little while, and I'll teach you everything. Maybe Amelia can help us too, she's my sister." Nellie's eyes glittered with excitement as the girls made plans. Then Samantha began talking about everyone she lived with and all the neighbors. By the time she told Nellie about Uncle Gard's automobile they were both giggling. The girls were interrupted by a familiar voice.

"I see you Samantha! I see you Nellie! And you're really ugly. You're both so ugly you'd scare a moose. You're so ugly…"

"Eddie get out of here." Samantha snapped.

"I'm telling!" Eddie started running towards the house. Nellie looked frightened but Samantha yelled.

"Eddie!" He turned around to hear what she had to say. "Eddie if you tell anybody anything about us, I will take your new pocket knife and I will stuff it full of taffy." Eddie stared at Samantha. Then he put his hand over his back pocket to protect his knife. He began to back away from the girls. Finally he ran away. When he'd gone Nellie jumped up.

"I'd better get back to work." She said. Samantha followed her friend out of the tunnel.

"Alright but tomorrow we'll make a telephone. Mrs. Hawkins will give us two tin cans, and I can get a string. We'll string it through the hedge where Eddie won't see it. Then we can talk whenever we want to. Oh, Nellie, we'll have the most wonderful time!"


	4. Chapter 4

"Amelia!" Samantha called as she ran through the second floor corridor. She stopped when she found her older sister seated at her desk reading.

"Yes Samantha?" Amelia sighed before putting her book down.

"I've just met the girl that Eddie was talking about. Her name's Nellie and she's to be a servant for the Rylands." Samantha proudly indulged her information.

"I see." Amy replied uninterested before she picked up her book.

"Only she's not here with her family. They all live in the city. Her father works in a factory and her mother does washing you see. There wasn't enough food or coal so they sent her away. Isn't that awful?" Samantha questioned before flopping down on her sister's bed.

"Mmmm hmmm." Amy answered not fully listening.

"Anyway I think we're going to become the best of friends. Oh Amy it will be simply wonderful to have a friend other than noisy Eddie Ryland." At this Amelia glanced over her shoulder.

"Sam it might not be a good idea for you to play with Nellie." Samantha could tell Amelia's face was full of worry but she didn't know why. Sensing this Amy tried to explain. "If Nellie is staying with the Rylands to work, you're playing might distract her." Amelia could only hope this simple answer would be sufficient.

"Oh Amelia it won't I promised Nellie it wouldn't. And if she needs help with her chores I can do it. I help Hawkins all the time." Samantha reassured her sister.

"But Sam things don't work like that girls like us _don't_ do chores."

"Well why not?" Samantha began to pout. "It's not fair! Nellie and her family didn't _ask_ to have less money than us."

"That's just the way that things are Samantha!" Amy burst out in frustration. "Please just go Samantha I'm trying to finish my book and I need quiet. Can we talk about this later?" Samantha slipped off her sister's bed and stomped across the hall moodily. Amelia always thought she was so much smarter because she was older than Samantha. Well she was only a few years older, which didn't seem like much in Sam's mind. Samantha decided in that moment that she was going to prove Amelia wrong. She was going to be friends with Nellie and everything was going to be just fine.

By next Tuesday afternoon, Samantha's sampler read "Actions speak louder tha." The sewing hour was almost over when there was a gentle knock on the parlor door.

"Come in." Grandmary told the knocker. Jessie came in dressed to leave for home. She cursied quickly and waited for Grandmary to speak. Jessie looked especially grand today, she was wearing a light gray summer coat that came almost to the floor. But Samantha and Amelia wondered why she was leaving so early.

"Yes Jessie?" Grandmary questioned.

"Ma'am, I've just come to say I won't be coming back now." Jessie replied. Amelia remained calm while Samantha almost jumped out of her chair.

"Jessie, why?!" Grandmary silenced her with a look that said _children should be seen and not heard._ She spoke to Jessie only.

"Very well Jessie. I'd like to thank you for your service. You have been a great help and a pleasure to us. We shall miss you very much." Samantha was horrified how could Grandmary and Amelia just let Jessie go away like that? "You can see Hawkins for your pay. There will be a bonus for you." Grandmary continued.

"Thank you ma'am." Jessie said with a curtsy. At first Samantha was stunned. She watched in horror as Jessie left without another word. Then all at once her words rushed out. "Grandmary, why is Jessie leaving? And why did you let her?"

"Please sit down Samantha." Grandmary answered, her eyes never moving from the lace work in her hands. "A young lady must not ask questions of her elders. This is Jessie's business." Samantha sat down unwillingly. It seemed as if every stitch she put in her sampler had to be pulled out again. She just didn't understand why Jessie would leave without explaining.

At last the sewing hour was over. Samantha curtsied quickly when Grandmary excused the two girls. Then she rushed out of the parlor to find Mrs. Hawkins. Curious, Amelia followed her sister to the kitchen. The kitchen was always filled with the wonderful smells of Mrs. Hawkin's cooking. That day Mrs. Hawkins stood by the big wooden table at the center of the room rolling pastry for meat pies. She wasn't surprised to see Amelia or Samantha. Both girls often came to the kitchen to talk and eat treats that Mrs. Hawkins saved for them.

"Hello ladies, why are you rushing so? Sit down now and tell me what's the matter. You look like thunder!" Samantha slumped herself down into a chair and Amelia gracefully floated into the seat next to her.

"Jessie's gone away." Amelia explained for her out of sorts sister.

"Yes dear I know."

"But why?" Samantha whined. "Grandmary didn't even try to stop her!"

"Now, now love, you must not fret about it." Mrs. Hawkins said. "There are some things you just don't understand. Don't you think your Grandmary knows best?" How could Samantha possibly know if Grandmary knew best? How could she know if anybody knew best? She didn't know what anybody knew! She hurried from her and scurried to the butler's pantry. Amelia politely excused herself, and followed her sister once again. Hawkins was there whistling softly as he polished silver. He pulled out a chair for Samantha. They had their best talks when Samantha followed him around on his jobs, waxing furniture, beating the carpets or washing the windows. Now Hawkins handed each girl a polishing cloth. He knew how much easier it is to talk when your hands are busy. Amelia picked up a sugar bowl and waited for her sister to speak.

"Jessie's gone." The younger girl whispered into a teapot.

"I know." Hawkins answered stiffly.

"She is upset because no one will tell us why." Amelia elaborated.

"Believe me Miss Samantha, Jessie is fine." He promised. "I know it isn't easy but sometimes when you're young you just have to trust." Samantha didn't feel much like talking anymore. She put back the teapot, cleaning cloth, straightened her chair, and slowly left the pantry. Amelia on the other hand decided to stay and continue helping Hawkins polish the silver.

Samantha was grudgingly shuffling past the parlor when Grandmary called to her.

"Samantha!"

"Yes ma'am?" She asked politely from the doorway.

"I have been very pleased with your efforts these past weeks. If you go upstairs, you will find something on your bed." For a minute Samantha forgot about Jessie's leaving. She even forgot to say thank you as she ran up the stairs two at a time. Inside her room Samantha stopped short. There in the middle of her bed was a doll dressed in shinning blue silk. She had a wide silk hat to match. Her soft china hands anf face were rosy and delicate.

"Oh Lydia." She whispered before picking up the doll gently. Then she hugged her very close.


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning after breakfast Samantha brought Lydia outside so that she could meet Nellie. Amelia had asked to accompany her sister so that she could meet Nellie too. Nellie had never owned a doll, not even a simple one and certainly not a doll as beautiful as Lydia. Samantha wondered if she had been wrong to bring a Lydia along.

"It's alright if you play with her." Samantha said when she noticed how Nellie's eyes glowed as she touched Lydia's dress. "Look, her hat can come off and her dress even has little buttons." While Nellie cradled Lydia, Samantha told her what had happened.

"Jessie left and nobody will tell me why." Samantha pouted.

"Samantha I thought you'd decided to let that go." Amelia rolled her eyes. Nellie didn't say anything she was busy buttoning Lydia's tiny buttons.

"I think I know though." Samantha explained. "I think she's going to be an actress."

"And what makes you think that?" Amy interrogated her sister.

"She'll be famous." Samantha went on. "And one day she'll come back here and we'll go to see her. And she'll take the three of us to meet all the actors and actresses. Only the three of us out of the whole town because we were her friends." Nellie still had nothing to say. Now she was looking at the doll's tiny leather shoes.

In the days that followed Samantha came up with several reasons for Jessie's leaving. Maybe Jessie had gone to New Orleans with Lincoln to be a singer there. Or the President might have asked her to be a spy in Europe. She'd sew elegant clothes for kings and queens and learn their secrets. Or maybe her brother had been kidnapped and taken to South America and Jessie was going to rescue him.

One day Amelia had been in the kitchen when she'd overheard a telephone call between Mrs. Hawkins and Jessie. Without a word Amelia sneaked out of the kitchen and up to her sister's bedroom.

"Sam?" She called from the doorway. Samantha looked up from the floor where she and Lydia were having imaginary tea. "I think I know what happened to Jessie." Amelia crossed the room to sit cross-legged by her sister. "I was in the kitchen when I overheard Mrs. Hawkins talking to Jessie over the phone. I think Jessie had a baby."

"Why would she do that?" Samantha asked innocently.

"Grown-ups like babies." Was all Amy said for a long moment. She was expecting Samantha to say something. When her little sister returned to her tea, Amelia rose to her feet. "Well at least you don't have to worry anymore and you know Jessie is fine." She left the room without another word.

Samantha tried all day long to take Jessie off her mind. When she had failed to do so by the late afternoon she decided to talk to Nellie. Safely tucked in the tunnel Samantha confided in her friend.

"Amelia thinks that Jessie's gone a way to have a baby but she wouldn't explain _why_ Jessie would want to do that."

"Lots of people do." Nellie told her. "They just like babies."

"Jessie loves babies." Samantha agreed. "Why wouldn't Grandmary tell me if it was a baby?" Nellie could only shrug.

"Grown-ups don't like to talk about babies coming."

"I asked Grandmary about babies once, she said it wasn't a proper subject for young girls. I asked Mrs. Hawkins and she said the stork brings babies but she wouldn't talk about it anymore."

"I don't think it's true anyway." Nellie shook her head. "When my baby sister came the midwife was at our building. My other sister and I had to go out with my uncle. When we got back my baby sister was there and the midwife was fixing tea for my mother. But there wasn't any stork anywhere."

"What's a Midwife?" Samantha questioned.

"She's a lady who visits whenever a new baby comes." Nellie explained. "My uncle said she brings the baby in her little black bag. But I looked in and the bag was full of things like doctors have. There wouldn't be any room for a baby in there."

"Nellie we've just _got_ to find out what happened to Jessie. If we just knew where she lived we could ask Lincoln. He must know where she is."

"I know where she lives." Nellie whispered.

"You do?" Samantha was suddenly excited.

"A woman across the street from Jessie makes an herb that cures headaches. One day Mrs. Ryland wanted some so she sent me home with Jessie to get it. I can show you."

"Oh Nellie that's perfect!" Samantha hugged her. "Only we can't go in the daytime they'd stop us for sure! We'll go tonight. When everyone's in bed I'll sneak down the back stairs and meet you right here in the tunnel. Look out your window and watch my house. Grandmary always turns out the gas lamps just before she goes to bed. That's how you know it's all right for me to come down and meet you."

Nellie agreed. She knew no one at the Ryland house would even notice if she went out after she had finished her evening chores.


End file.
